Like many former residents of the Robert Taylor Homes, Rontonio Guterz stayed connected through picnics near the site of the now-demolished public housing complex.
Though their childhood was rough at times, Guterz’s sister said the occasional reunions had become a point of pride.
“It’s just bringing back that unity we feel like we missed out on,” Donna Guterz told the Sun-Times. “Our home was taken away from us.”
On Saturday night, a celebration in Washington Park ended in tragedy when masked gunmen reportedly opened fire, killing Guterz and wounding 14 others in the largest mass shooting in Chicago this year.
Donna Guterz is now planning her youngest sibling’s funeral — a somber event that will likely bring some of the same people back together.
“It’s been terrible, just knowing the type of person he was,” she said. “The outpouring on social media has been amazing. I didn’t know my brother was that loved.”
Local Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th) said the attack had nothing to do with the reunion, which was wrapping up when the gunfire erupted. She called on those who know anything about the gunmen to step forward.
Meanwhile, Mayor Brandon Johnson said he was working closely with the Chicago Police Department “to hold those responsible accountable and keep our communities safe.” But, as of Monday evening, no arrests had been reported.
A tragic reunion
The shooting happened around 11:30 p.m. Saturday as officers tried to disperse a crowd gathered near the east edge of the park in the 5400 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue, the police department said.
Two gunmen wearing ski masks opened fire, and someone at the gathering shot back, according to a police report. Dozens of shell casings were recovered, along with a weapon.
Rontonio Guterz, 35, was shot six times and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he died, according to the police report and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
He was the youngest of 12 siblings and was known among family as “Tray,” according to his sister, who said their life was challenging after their parents died a few years apart in the early 2000s. “We raised ourselves,” she noted.
Rontonio Guterz had a girlfriend and three young daughters, and he’d just bought a truck after earning his commercial driver’s license, Donna Guterz said.
But he also had run-ins with the law. In 2021, he pleaded guilty in a gun possession case and was sentenced to four years in prison, according to court records.
“Rontonio has made mistakes in the past,” his sister said, “but he made up for them through the way he lived.”
Over the years, the Robert Taylor Homes community stayed connected through their occasional picnics, though Donna Guterz said she had stopped attending them. Saturday’s gathering was one of several they held this year, she said.
“Every year, they hang with each other. That’s the one thing I do honor about us. We are united at all times,” Donna Guterz said of the former Robert Taylor residents.
She has launched a GoFundMe page to help pay for her brother’s funeral services. So far, she has raised nearly half of the $6,500 goal.
“He was such an outgoing person,” said Donna Guterz. “He loved everybody.”
The 14 other shooting victims ranged in age from 21 to 47 years old, police said.
Jeanette Moore, 45, said she was catching up with other former residents of the Robert Taylor Homes when she was shot.
“I didn’t see anything, I just heard shooting and started running,” Moore told the Sun-Times. “Chaos, running, screaming. … It wasn’t a rowdy gathering or nothing like that, it was a community.”
She said the longstanding tradition was “definitely ruined.”
‘Gun violence has no place here’
Ald. Taylor said reunions of Robert Taylor Homes residents have been happening since the complex was torn down in 2007. She said Saturday’s shooting had “nothing to do with the events that went on in the park.”
“People were just still hanging out in the park,” she said. “Somebody was standing across the street and shot into the people that was standing there. That is the person that all this should be targeted to, not the people who were hanging out, just reminiscing.”
Ephraim Lee, a Wentworth police district councilor, said he was frustrated when he heard about the mass shooting. Lee said he’s noticed positive changes in the South Side area in recent years, specifically when it comes to police officers’ relationships with the community.
However, he acknowledged, there are “individuals who still feel the need to commit these shootings.”
Mayor Johnson said his administration remains focused on its work “to break these cycles of trauma by continuing to stop the flow of guns into our communities and investing in the resources that help prevent violence before it occurs.”
“My administration will continue to show up for those impacted by these violent acts by providing access to victim services and mental health support,” he wrote over the weekend.
Gov JB Pritzker echoed his commitment, saying, “Gun violence has no place here — and law enforcement will work around the clock to ensure accountability and keep communities safe.”
Sunday’s attack marked the city’s 19th mass shooting this year, according to data analyzed by the Sun-Times.
Across Chicago, the number of mass shootings peaked in 2021 and has steadily declined. Over that same period, the overall number of citywide shootings and homicides has fallen significantly.
Acclivus Inc., a violence intervention organization, will host an event for victims of the shooting Tuesday afternoon in Fuller Park. Katrina Waddy, public education coordinator with Acclivus, said outreach workers were on the ground Saturday and continue to work closely with those impacted by the shooting.
“These are our neighbors,” Waddy said. “These are the people that we’ve grown up with. … These are extended family members and, in some cases, they are direct family.
“It hits closer to home when it happens in our communities that we service.”